In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor says we’ve got happiness backwards. Instead of chasing “success” hoping it will make us happy, research shows that if we commit to certain simple practices that have been shown to increase happiness, success will follow.

One of those practices is gratitude. I could use a little happiness boost right now (who couldn’t?), so I’m going to sing the praises of one of my favorite things in Morgantown: THE BUS!

That’s right, I said the bus. I know it’s fashionable to complain about 1950s-style public transportation, but I LOVE the Mountain Line Transit Authority!

Here are ten reasons things that are AWESOME about the bus:

10) The discipline of getting out the door at the same time every morning, rewarded by the bonus of getting to work when it’s still quiet every day

9) The little tracker app, which doesn’t always work but is awesome when it does

8) Walking to the bus stop, wearing off the early-morning grogginess or the after-work tension

7) Having a little community of folks I wouldn’t normally cross paths with, undergrads and shift workers and retirees

6) Mountain Line + Uber + Enterprise = cheaper than a car

5) Reading on the bus: stolen moments of indulgence on the busiest of days

4) The mind-clearing pause between work/home and home/work

3) The heat of the engine on the back seat of the bus on a cold day

2) Watching the sun rise in the winter

1) The best deal you can get for 50 cents (or free with WVU ID)